1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to archery equipment and, more particularly, to an arrow rest for guiding and supporting an arrow on an archery bow.
Arrow supporting devices or so-called arrow rests are well known to those skilled in the art. The arrow rest provides several important functions for the archer. Initially, the arrow rest supports an arrow prior to and during drawing the archery bow to a shooting position and guiding the arrow toward the target after it has been released from the bow string. In addition, the arrow rest must cause a minimal amount of frictional resistance to the arrow as it is released from the bow, and minimal damage to the arrow shaft or fletching i.e. feathers.
In addition, the arrow rest will ideally support the arrow in a drawn position when the bow is tilted or rotated radially which is often the case during hunting. In this situation the mid-section of the arrow may slip from the arrow rest invariably causing the hunter to miss the target.
Although some prior art devices as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,282,850, 5,460,153 and 4,372,282 provide radial support of the arrow shaft, such devices have proven to be less than satisfactory. In particular, such devices impart severe frictional resistance to the passage of the arrow unless the fletching is oriented rather precisely to the radial openings in the arrow rest.
Thus, the present invention has been developed to overcome these problems and other shortcomings of the prior art devices.
2. Description of Related Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 4,372,282 to Edward Sanders discloses a device for supporting an arrow disposed in a ready-to-shoot position on an archery bow. Although this arrow rest provides radial support to the mid-portion of an arrow, the arrow must be radially oriented to the arrow support to avoid damaging the arrow fetching as it passes through the arrow rest.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,042,450 to William J. Jacobson discloses a device for supporting an arrow on an archery bow including an annular body wherein three support fingers provide radial support and guidance for the arrow. However, this arrow support also requires proper angular orientation of the fetching to the opening between the finger supports to prevent damage to the fletching.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,460,153 to Robert L. Huntt discloses an archery arrow guide including an elastomeric diaphragm having a central opening for receiving an arrow shaft and a plurality of openings through which the vanes on the arrow are projected as the arrow is released from the bow. However, this arrow guide also requires proper orientation of the arrow vanes to the radial openings in the diaphragm to prevent damage to the arrow vanes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,282,850 to Allen E. Warnicke discloses an archery bow having an arrow guide apparatus for holding and guiding a vaned arrow. The apparatus includes a channel formed in the bow's handle section and three flexible fins mounted at angularly spaced intervals within the channel and projecting radially inwardly therein. This apparatus also requires angular orientation of the arrow fetching to the openings between the flexible fins.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,858,589 to Steven Chang discloses an archery arrow sighting apparatus which is mounted to an archery bow. An arrow supporting element is formed from an elastomeric material having a generally truncated triangular configuration which must be aligned with the arrow fletching.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,072 also to Steven Chang discloses a combination arrow sighting and support apparatus including a conical arrow support portion having a central aperture and arrow feather slots arranged in a triangular pattern to permit passage of the feathers.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,456,242 to Eric J. Ruholl discloses an arrow rest for an archery bow having a guide plate defining a central opening, three slots extending radially from the central opening, and a plurality of set screws projecting into the central opening to provide an adjustable support structure for arrow shafts. This arrow rest includes the typical triangular configuration for passage of the arrow fletching.